Soph and Genevieve

Not to be outdone........

......by a pregnancy poll, Sophia and Genevieve have some announcements!


Friday, I lost my first tooth!

And I began crawling!

Way to go, girls!

Am I? Am I Not?

Am I? Am I not? (Updated)

Pregnant that is. First, let me say that I do not know the answer to this question.....yet! I thought it would be fun to do a little poll and find out what YOU think!

Maybe???
1. I am on day 42 of my cycle (my norm is 30-35 days)
2. The baby is nearly 8 mos. so a few of my friends keep asking "Are you pregnant yet?"
3. I'm a bit hungrier.....especially in the morning
4. I'm a teensie weensie bit moody-er.... (who me?)
5. I've dropped another couple of pounds (possibly burning more calories from nursing and developing baby)
6. My kids, especially the older girls desperately WANT me to be pregnant
7. The little ones keep talking as if we're already expecting

Maybe Not???
1. This would only be my second full cycle so I could just be "normalizing"
2. My longest cycle has been 44 days
3. The baby has been nursing more like a newborn in the last couple of weeks which could have thrown off my cycle
4. I'm hungrier because the baby is nursing more frequently
5. I'm moody because of hormones in general......you name it
6. Again, because of increased nursing, it would make sense to drop a pound or two
7. As much as my children are ready for another baby, they can't WILL a pregnancy

So, based on these facts, what do you think? Leave a comment and give me your best guess.

Just so you know, I don't plan on testing until at least day 45 so I'll leave this poll open for several days. I probably won't post results until next Friday, so check back!
UPDATE: At the insistence of my sweet husband, I'll be posting results Monday (I'll test that morning-day 45)! I guess a week IS a long time to wait. And so far, no cycle, but also no additional symptoms either! ;-)

If you're a blogger, you already know what to do, but if you don't know how to post a comment, here's how. Click on the word "comments" directly under this post. Write your comment and then click the "name/URL" bubble. Type in your name and hit "Publish Your Comment". Done!

Family Integrated Church

RUN over to my friend Amy's blog and read about her journey to the Family Integrated Church!

If you want to know more about this wonderful church of which she speaks, click on the Covenant of Grace link to your left!

First Day of School

After a two week delay from when we had originally planned to begin school, it finally happened! We got it together and began our new schooling year today!

Though I was looking forward to the routine and structure of our school days, I have to admit, I just wasn't quite ready this year. It's been a busy summer and the urge to sleep in this morning was tempting. But alas! I got up and got busy......at 5:30am.  This happens to be my normal wake time, but for some reason, just knowing we were starting school today made me feel unusually tired. Or maybe it was staying up until 11:00 pm watching the Olympics that made me feel so tired!  Hmm...

Just for fun, I thought I'd document our day. I can remember a time when we were on top of things and probably TOO scheduled for most people, but it worked for a time!

Now, with seven kids, five of them seven and under, I have yet to find a schedule that works for us. So, we just do the best we can and try to be sensible in our planning and have fun!

Here's what our day looked like:

We always begin our day with Bible reading and prayer, even the little ones.


After Bible, we spread out and put everyone to work. The school-aged kids pretty much always begin with math. The younger ones think they're schooling by doing something like this.


Celeste began with Grammar and Composition while Cheyenne used the computer for her math lesson.

This is Seth digging in to his second grade arithmetic book.

Sophia got quite a bit ahead last year, so is well under way in her first grade math book.

We do not do a formal pre-k program, but we do get our little ones started in basic letter recognition, sounds, and writing practice when we feel they're ready. Chloe is up for the challenge, although she's learned a lot already by way of watching the older children. She did GREAT tracing the letter A.....and, she's our first lefty!

While the other kids are still working, we try hard to keep the little ones busy with Legos, Tinker Toys, or Blocks.

Cheyenne is busy completing her math. She's pretty good at it, just like her Daddy!

Bam Bam and Pebbles! Poor Genevieve!

We're to the point where we have to take shifts with the little ones. Here, Celeste is taking her shift while I work with Seth. What a help this is!!!

Seth is doing his copywork from his second year of First Language Lessons.

Break and snack time.

Thankfully, Genevieve is content to sit and play!

The little ones are busy coloring while I work with the older girls.

Chloe's a big girl and she's learning to read!

Seth's (second year) lesson from First Language Lessons. He LOVES this book!

Sophia BEGINS First Language Lessons! I LOVE this book!

Ahh.....a quiet moment for the older girls. The little ones are down for rest time! The girls are doing Vocabulary at the moment.

We had a great first day!

Tomorrow, we'll dive into our other subjects such as History, Science and Writing. While these pictures may reflect that of a nice, peaceful, stress-free day, we certainly had our share of whining, poopy diapers, chaos and discipline. But over all, it was a productive day and I can actually say that we're looking forward to tomorrow!

I am truly blessed to be able to teach my children at home! Happy schooling everyone!

The Girls

When Did They Become Little Women?

Celeste (13) and Cheyenne (almost 16)........our two oldest daughters...........

Sisters.........Best Friends.............Well........most of the time ;-)

Just because they make me smile................